1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to hunting accessories and, more particularly, to devices for temporarily holding bows, photography or video cameras, and/or other hunting accessories when hunting from a tree stand, other hunting stand, or on the ground.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Archery bow holders and other hunting accessory holders, conventionally referred to as, e.g., bow holders, bow holding devices, holders, holder devices, hangers, hooks, or hunting accessory holding devices, are rather commonplace in various hunting industries. The holders, holding devices, hanger, or hooks, are used to temporarily hold or suspend various hunting-related articles during hunting activities.
Typical bow holders are rigid structures for supporting the weight of a bow or other hunting accessories during extended periods of time while the hunter awaits the presence of game animals. In other words, during use, typical bow holders have fixed components and are fixed in position. With such devices, the bow or other hunting accessories cannot be easily disengaged or removed from the holder without sufficient movement and/or noise to alert the intended prey to the hunter's presence. With such a rigid or fixed device, it is possible and even likely that the hunter will make contact with the holder while aiming his bow thus inadvertently alerting the prey. Furthermore, if a bow or other hunting accessory is successfully removed from the holder without alerting the game animal, the holder can obscure the hunter's line of sight or freedom of movement in aiming at the intended target. Although various attempts have been made to resolve these issues with at least some success, such attempts can produce yet other issues.
For example, devices as shown in applicant's own U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,240 include certain features which automatic move a holding arm out of the hunter's way, once a bow is removed therefrom. In this regard, the holding arm is removed from the line of sight or bow maneuvering space of the hunter. In particular, the holding arm can be moved by way of, e.g., a hydraulic cylinder or a gas spring cylinder.
However, hydraulic cylinders and gas spring cylinders can be relatively expensive which increases the end cost to the consumer. Also, hydraulic cylinders and gas spring cylinders can be relatively heavy and thus add to the overall mass of the device, which can cause the device to be at times cumbersome or heavy which can fatigue the hunter when transporting to or installing in, e.g., a tree. The hydraulic cylinders disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,240 span between distal ends and/or medial portions of upright and horizontally extending components of the device, in a triangulated fashion, to function like a third class lever. Due to such triangulated configuration of the hydraulic cylinder and the upright and horizontally extending components, the outer perimeter of the device encloses a much larger area than if the device were devoid of the hydraulic cylinder, whereby the device can be relatively visually conspicuous. During use of hydraulic cylinders, the fluid flowing past the piston or through the valving, or the piston traversing the length of the cylinder, can at times produce a noise or sound, hence potentially “spooking” the animal being hunted. Also, various flow characteristics of fluid within the hydraulic cylinder will change as a function of temperature, whereby during cold operating conditions, it could take relatively more time for the hydraulic cylinder to lift the movable device components out of the hunter's way. It is noted that some game animals have rather acute hearing or seeing abilities, whereby any hydraulic or other noises or sounds, or visually noticeable movement of the device, can be detected by the game animals, alerting them of the presence of the hunter(s).
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide hunting accessory holding devices which automatically retract out of a hunter's line of sight or bow maneuvering space in a silent manner. It would further be desirable to provide such hunting accessory holding devices which have relatively fewer large or elongate components associated with the lifting or retracting mechanism(s), are relatively lightweight, easy to install, inexpensive, visually inconspicuous, and are unaffected by temperature and/or other dynamically changing climate or environment related influences. In addition, it would be desirable to provide hunting accessory holding devices with retracting arms that facilitate easy adjustment of a retraction preload setting or the rate of retraction of the retracting arms.